On 1 July 1946, a nine-year-old boy named Henryk Blazczyk left his house in Kielce, Poland, without telling his parents that he was going to visit family friends in a village almost 25 kilometers away. His parents became frantic and searched everywhere in Kielce without success. That night, his father Walenty reported the boy missing to the police. On the evening of 3 July, Henryk came home.

Afraid of punishment, Henryk spun a tale to deflect blame. Jews, he indicated, had kidnapped him and placed him in a cellar. He had escaped with the help of another boy. The next morning, 4 July, Henryk, his father and a neighbor reported this story to the police. On the way, Henryk embellished it a bit when he pointed out a Jewish community building/hostel on Planty Street where he said he had been held and indicated a man standing outside it, Singer Kalaman, as his abductor.